symbiotic
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- nonsymbiotic adjective
- nonsymbiotical adjective
- nonsymbiotically adverb
- symbiotically adverb
Etymology
Origin of symbiotic
Explanation
A symbiotic relationship benefits both parties. The two of you have a symbiotic relationship: she fixes your car and you style her hair. In biology, symbiotic refers to any diverse organisms that live together, but in this case, the relationship is not necessarily beneficial to both. Parasites, for example, have a symbiotic relationship with their hosts, but only the parasite benefits. If you contract a parasite, you might consider charging rent or throwing the bum out!
Vocabulary lists containing symbiotic
Words to Live By: Bio
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This Week in Pop Culture : January 5 - 11, 2019
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Cosmos
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Your ambition, your agency, and your will, amplified and actualized by a dedicated, symbiotic intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
Traditionally there was a symbiotic relationship between herders and farmers.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
Tesla, an Nvidia customer, is developing ‘physical AI’ applications like robots, creating a symbiotic relationship for both companies.
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
John McCutcheon, a biology professor at Arizona State University, studies the symbiotic relationships between insects and the invisible bacteria that live inside their cells.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
They pay almost no attention to all the moons and planets, asteroids and comets, quasars and pulsars, exploding galaxies, symbiotic stars, cataclysmic variables and X-ray sources that have been discovered since Ptolemy’s time.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
